King of Szechuan

During meals, it’s not unusual to experience a vivid tingling sensation in your mouth at this perpetually under-​recognized Richmond Chinese establishment. The offerings at King of Szechuan are delectably authentic and compelling. If you’re looking for a meal that satisfies through extending vivid challenges to your palate with soaring spiciness, this is easily one of the region’s finest spots. Yes, there is a nationally recognized Chinese establishment, Peter Chang’s, not far away, but that shouldn’t dissuade fans of high-​level Chinese cuisine from tracking this place down. King of Szechuan’s chef, Guang, owns a robust and playful style, creating dishes that aficionados of exotic flavors would be well served to experience as a counterpoint to Richmond’s other options.
King of Szeshuan offers a style of eating known as hot pot that originates in the region from where the restaurant gets its name. It’s a kind of cuisine that resembles fondues or shabu-​shabu in that there is a communal dipping/​cooking pot at the center of the table. What sets this variant apart is the intense spiciness that is an optional flavoring level. Choosing the hotter levels is like shock therapy for your tongue.
Guang’s menu, apart from hot pot, also offers a broad array of provocative dishes beyond what a group of four could consume in a single visit. The range of offerings spans the familiar to the truly exotic. There are certainly bits of the unknown represented on the menu. That’s a good thing. No, for fans of expanding their experience with authentic Chinese cooking, it’s a great thing. There’s an intensity to meals here that will draw you back for more, the taste of an adventurous culinary exploration lingering on your tongue and mind for days after.

I seem to be very generous when it comes to five star Chinese establishments in Richmond, but that’s because I rarely come across a place that doesn’t specialize in Americanized Chinese food. King of Szechuan offers hotpot, and that won me over. I never would have expected to find a hotpot place in Richmond.
The hotpot option is a flat $ 8 for the base broth, and then you order everything else a la carte. There aren’t too many options, but the essentials are there. I ordered the yuan1 yang1 guo1 (half-​spicy, half-​regular) pot, and got some meat, tripe, veggies, tofu, and clear noodles. The broth was delicious and very flavorful. It really hit the spot! The sauces were great, and the hotpot stayed nice and hot with the portable gas burner at our table. I would love to come back with a group of friends to be able to order more!
I also ordered one dish off of the regular menu, the spicy crispy eggplant, as suggested by another Unilocal review. It was amazing! I had never had eggplant prepared that way (deep fried like a log, cut into segments, topped with minced pork sauce and served with broccoli). I saw a lot of other really tantalizing, authentic Chinese dishes on the menu, so I can’t wait to come back for more!
Service was ok. There was just one relatively young girl manning the entire restaurant. The restaurant was pretty empty when I went since it was late, but no complaints. The restaurant is very simply decorated, but it is clean and does the job.
There isn’t much parking outside though, and the restaurant is located in a very unexpected strip of businesses off the side of the road.

The food was stale, some of the worst Chinese food I’ve had. The brown rice was clumpy and yellow and looked scraped from the bottom of a warming pan, the general saos chicken was soggy and fatty. The mushu pork was wet and blanched, and seamed boiled, not fried. The wraps that came with it were powdery and dry. Basically the food was in edible and even though I threw most of it out, what I did eat gave me indigestion in the extreme…
Avoid them, the food is foul and will make you sick…

I am actually sort of shocked at the amount of 5 star reviews at this place, not that I don’t think the food is good, because it is, but I always considered this place to be a hole in the wall dive joint that had Hot Pot!
When you pull up you’ll notice the building is kind of scary, there are a few random parking spots up front, and half the letters are missing from the sign. They are open at random times so if you have your heart set, make sure they are there.
I have never had anything here except the potstickers, spring rolls, and the hot pot. My family comes here for one thing and one thing only… that yummy yummy bowl of goodness!
We get the ½ and ½ pot, half spicy and have normal broth. The spicy is amazing, but it can be a bit overwhelming. We add beef and chicken, tofu, mushrooms, veggies, anything you want really. It all comes out raw, and in the hot tub it goes! We get rice and rice noodles and start slurping it down. Lots of runny noses and happy bellies at our table! Word of advice, ask them to leave out the little evil balls of hell called Szechuan peppercorns… they zap your tongue and it goes numb!

I absolutely love this restaurant and coming from all over great food is difficult to come by in Richmond. This is a Szechuan style Chinese restaurant (clearly from the name), but we come in for the hot pot. We have ordered entrees off the menu and i have never been disappointed from any meal.
Pros: This is not the traditional «Americanized» chinese restaurant although you can find those items on the menu. The food is very fresh and I can tell they make so much of it in house from the sauces and recipes. Several seafood options. Very casual inside and low key. Hot pot options are all delicious and the soup is very consistantly great! Generous portions for the entrees.
Cons: I certainly do not mind the service, but dont come in expected high end service. They are very low key and quiet servers that may or may not understand what you are asking for. I wouldnt say super friendly, but I could really care less because the food is so good I come in probably once a week.

Been several times to this Chinese/​Szechuan restaurant in the North/​West end. When it first opened it was pretty busy but business has seemed to slow, at least on weekdays but their service seems to be quicker these days.
Spicy food for the most part. Good things: hot pot, braised beef in garlic sauce (very tender strips of beef and a thin noodle at the bottom, need the rice to temper the spice), mapo tofu with pork and twice cooked pork. The meatballs are ok, but are just meat and peppers. The baby bamboo pork was ok, but had a slight sour tinge.
Also enjoyed their egg drop soup more than other places, less oily.
I don’t think any dish can actually be bad here, but just not your style.
If you are in the mood for spicy food and don’t want to go all the way to the West End for Peter Chang’s give this place a try.

This was very good Chinese for the money. I ordered online, which was easy and convenient. Most Chinese restaurants don’t have this option The food came in about a half hour and the delivery was free with a 15 dollar minimum/​4 mile radius.
I was pleased to find that they had some stuff that was more authentic. My roommate is Chinese and was excited to see the Twice Cooked Pork. This was actually spicy, unlike a lot of americanized Chinese food that brandishes the red chili icon. It had a great, complex flavor. I also got some beef lo mein which was not greasy and had a lot of white and spring onions. I will definitely be ordering a lot of this in the future. The portions are large and I don’t think you can beat this place price-​wise.

Dinner at King of Szechuan concluded my 2^nd night here in Virginia after my 3,000 miles relocation from Los Angeles. The soup base for the hot pot was well worth the $ 8 which was spent. The white soup was excellent. It wasn’t the typical soup base in the world of hot pot and it was refillable upon request. The goji in the soup were very fresh. Waitress was nice. Roughly $ 25 per person. I guess it wasn’t bad at all in Richmond, where competition basically is non-​exist.
I will try their water boil items next. Let’s see what it gets compared to my predefined standard from LA.

Always the same, best Szechuan chicken close by.

If you’re looking for delicious, authentic Szechuan food I would highly recommend this place. Everything I have had here is delicious, and since the entrée list isn’t the most descriptive I always feel compelled to give new dishes a try and I’ve never been disappointed. The hot pot is so much fun, I always stuff myself with fish balls, and I highly recommend the crispy fried eggplant. This place will open your eyes as to what Chinese food can be.

Really phenomenal. I never encountered the service problems others have hit. I wouldn’t do a quick business lunch here, but the… the… everything.
Devastation. There was devastation.
The great plains echoed, the Yangtze sang in the great distance, and there–
There, there was Chinese food.

Finding good Chinese food in Richmond is always an adventure, and so we crossed our fingers and went with King of Szechuan. We ordered staple dishes we could use as a benchmark to the Chinese takeaway of our childhood: General Tso’s chicken, vegetable lo mein, spring rolls, and egg rolls. The guy taking our order said it «might be a while» because they were so busy. It’s a weekend night, okay, understandable.
We roll up to pickup our order a half an hour later and it’s still not ready, so we have to wait. It’s clear this place is sadly understaffed: one young waitress dashes from table to table, one person manages the register and then sprints back to the kitchen. There were several empty tables but it still felt like they were barely makin’ it work.
Finally, we get our food and we’re so hungry at this point, we munch on spring rolls and egg rolls on the car ride back. I asked for a spring roll but got a shrimp roll, so I wasn’t especially happy to spit out chunks of shrimp into my hand. But hey, at least it was identifiable! My partner’s egg roll wasn’t what he expected at all. Both rolls were very small and lukewarm at best. I peeked inside the fried rice container and found that it was literally room temp fried rice: no veggies, no egg pieces, no nothin’.
Okay, okay, so why the four stars? The main dishes were simply fantastic. We pulled off the lids and STEAM, I tell you, STEAM poured off the noodles. The vegetable lo mein was piping hot, with an impressive assortment of veggies: carrots, two kinds of onions, broccoli, green beans, zucchini, baby corns, pea pods. It was delicious, crunchy veg with soft noodles and not a lot of grease. My partner’s General Tso was equally excellent: loads of all white meat pieces, broccoli, green pepper, carrots, and onions. All steaming hot.
So, the bells and whistles definitely fell flat, but when it came to the money food, King of Szechuan seemingly hit the spot. If nothing else, it’s definitely earned a repeat visit.

King of Szechuan is a great place if you want to spend a leisurely meal enjoying some flavorful food. Yes, the décor and music is a little cheesy (Titanic theme song played on sax, anyone?) but in the end, the food is what matters to me. I have been twice, the first time I had the General Tso’s tofu which was served with broccoli– very fresh and tasty. The next time I had the Mongolian Chicken which was sweet, spicy and delicious! After 2 years of searching, I’m so happy to have found a good Chinese place near my house!
Pros: great food, good prices, large servings, many choices for the adventurous and not-​so-​adventurous eaters alike
Cons: Service can be very slow, menu is a little confusing (has many items listed twice)

Yes, two stars. The food is delicious, and I have spent the year trying to find good Chinese food in Richmond. This is certainly it! But my rating has everything to do with their to-​go orders… let’s just say I love the food, HATE the service!
1. They say they are open Monday evenings but they are not. I have been burned by this twice since the first time, the guy told me that it was an «emergency» for the chef & that they were usually open.
Similarly, they say they do delivery but when we asked for it, he said they were not doing it «at that time.»
2. They suck at attaching tops to containers. The first time, I ordered wonton soup and by the time I got home, my bag was swimming in broth. The top of the soup wasn’t secure. The second time, the soy sauce that came with my potstickers had a wonky top that didn’t even fit onto the container!
3. Again, on the second time, I ordered 3 shrimp egg rolls — 2 for my bf & 1 for me. We only got 2. On top of that, there was no shrimp in those egg rolls.
Overall, the food is good & not that expensive. But go there to eat it! Oy vey…

If you have never tried hot pot then you are REALLY missing out. I order the spicy hot pot (double, but you can get a more traditional split of spicy/​non-​spicy) with beef (the non-​plate version is so tender!), tofu, and cabbage. Ask the waiter to mix the dipping sauce for you the first time. If they have cilantro, we really like it when they add that to the sauce! They will help you if you are new to hot pot, but you simply place some items in and cook them. Tofu takes at least 4 – 5 minutes and is ready when it floats to the top. Beef takes less time and is done when it looks cooked. Cabbage tends to take at least 3 minutes. Id suggest cooking one ingredient at a time so you don’t forget what is ready to eat. Dip it in the sauce and enjoy!
Pro tip: don’t eat any of the spices in the soup — you need to eat around those!

I’ve been to this place a couple times now and have always left happy.
Consistently get the fried dumplings, and they have tasty soups and spring rolls. The General Tso’s is very good. Nice and crispy, slightly spicy, not greasy at all, and a good portion size. Their lo mein is good as well, and their spicy chicken (a little on the pricier side) is very good: flavorful and has some nice heat to it.
Prices aren’t overly expensive like they can be at some Chinese places. Service is always pleasant and sincere. I haven’t had the opportunity to try the hot pot because of dining companions, but I want to! I’d definitely come here more often if I lived in the area.

Oh, the King. So many good things to say… let’s hit the highlights.
GREEN BEANS. Seriously — they do them two ways (mild and garlicky /​spicy with bits of flavorful pork), and either way is a major winner.
CHICKEN & EGGPLANT POT. A bubbling stoneware pot comes out filled with a concoction that I can only describe as Chinese chicken and dumplings — but the dumplings are the softest, tastiest morsels of eggplant ever. Slivers of fried tofu = bonus.
HOT POT. Last time I was there, 5 out of 6 tables had ordered it. Enough said.
BRAISED BEEF. Fall-​apart tender beef, rice noodles and bok choy swimming in chili-​garlic sauce… not for the faint of palate (hot hot hot), but delicious.
And so far, that’s all I’ve tried, despite going there once a week. I can’t seem to not get the eggplant or green beans. Good sign, right?
Other tips — if you order Americanized Chinese (sesame chicken, orange chicken, etc.) you might as well go anywhere else, and the friendly waitstaff will tell you as much. They want you to eat the Sichuan dishes.
Only downside: takeout/​phone ordering is a bit of a gamble.

What, an actually good Chinese restaurant, in Lakeside? YES IT’S TRUE. It’s not greasy, it’s not dirty, and it doesn’t close at 9pm. I don’t know if it’s authentic, but frankly, I don’t care– sometimes you just need some good chinese-​american comfort food ;)
My husband and I got take-​out last night around 10pm from this place, and I was thrilled to find that my sesame chicken came with broccoli, wasn’t covered in greasy sauce or soggy, but was crispy and sticky, like it should be ;)
My husband got chicken lomein– also a nice sized portion, also really delicious.
Oh, and did I mention that when I called the person on the other end of the phone spoke clearly and was very pleasant? LOVE THAT.
If they delivered, this place would get five stars because it’s a good solid chinese restaurant, perfect for those nights where you need to order in and sit in your sweatpants and watch movies.

Came back this time with the kids. Didn’t order the hot pot because i like it spicy and the kids gets grumpy when the food is spicy. ordered the steam dumplings, wonton soup, general tso chicken, curry chicken, hunan fish and shrimp lomen. Too much food to fix our table.
You have to try a whole bunch of food to know if a restaurant is good right? Can’t judge a restaurant based on a few dishes. My husband and I loved loved the hot pot the last time we were here. The other dishes were just as good except for the curry. I didn’t know chinese restaurants had curry, i’m use to thai and vietnamese curry.
Total bill including 20% tip $ 61

New Chinese place is town, and they serve authentic stuff too along with hot pot. I was really let down when I realized the hot pot wasn’t what I thought it was. I was with my coworkers, so I stuck with the American menu and ordered the orange chicken lunch combo. Don’t want to freak anyone out for my love for authentic asian food.
The wonton soup was above average.
The spring roll was above average.
The orange chicken was above average.
The service was above average.
Overall, I’d go back. It was less than $ 7 bucks! However, I asked for my orange chicken to be spicy. I was very clear and said «MORE SPICY» — but they failed to make it spicy at all. Another reason I should learn Chinese… Wo Boo Dong.